The President of Azerbaijan said on Sunday that the passenger plane 38 people died in the accident last weekwas accidentally shot by the Russian military. He also accused Russia of “silencing” the issue for several days.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to state television on Sunday that “Azerbaijan Airlines” flight 8243 was “accidentally shot down”.

“We can say with full clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (…) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he said.

He added that the plane suffered some sort of electrical jam and was shot down as it approached the southern Russian city of Grozny.

Aliyev accused Russia of “silencing” the issue for several days, saying that he was “upset and surprised”. versions of events put forward by Russian officials;

“Unfortunately, during the first three days, we heard only absurd versions from Russia,” said Aliyev, referring to statements made in Russia, which attribute the accident to birds or the explosion of some gas cylinder.

“We witnessed clear attempts to cover up this issue,” said the leader of Azerbaijan, who has close ties with Russia.

On Wednesday, the Azerbaijani plane was flying from the capital city of Baju to Grozny, when it deviated from its course. It crashed while trying to reach another airport in the western city of Aktau, Kazakhstan.

Mobile phone footage appears to show the plane making a steep descent before crashing into the ground and exploding in a fireball about two miles from Aktau airport.

The airline said there were 67 people on board, 62 passengers and 5 crew members, and 38 people died in the crash, with 29 survivors.

Aliyev's words are heard one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani colleague “due to the tragic incident in Russian airspace” on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said that air defense systems fired near Grozny, the regional capital of Russia's Chechen Republic, where the plane tried to land to deflect a strike by a Ukrainian drone.

The Kremlin's statement did not say that Russia had shot down the plane, only that a criminal investigation had been launched into the incident.

Aliyev said that Azerbaijan presented three demands to Russia in connection with the plane crash.

“Firstly, the Russian side should apologize to Azerbaijan, secondly, admit its guilt, thirdly, punish the guilty, subject them to criminal liability and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, injured passengers and crew members,” he said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that U.S. officials “have seen some early signs that certainly point to the possibility that this plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems.”

He confirmed that the US had intelligence or information pointing to that possibility, but said Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were currently investigating and the US would “respect that process”.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane as it circled over Grozny.